By Gary Daughtrey

HAMPTON, VA -July 3, 2008— Jammie Goode moved out front on the third circuit and stormed to his third victory of the season in the McDonald’s 75, the longest race of the season for the Super 8 Motels/B&B Engines Grand Stock division and the featured event of Thursday’s Miss Utility Night program at Langley Speedway.

The lineup for the race was determined by the point standings. Since division leader Paul Lubno had won the previous two events, though, he had to start eighth, by track rules. Tommy Sweeney and Danny Harrell shared the front row, while Goode and Jimmy Adkins made up Row 2. Robbie Parker and Brandon Hinson started from Row 3.

At the drop of the initial green flag, Sweeney leaped into the lead and left the door open for Goode to follow him past Harrell. Completing that pass, Goode went after Sweeney in Turn 4 and pulled ahead as they reached the other end of the frontstretch. Before lap 1 was officially in the books, however, the first caution flag appeared, necessitating a complete restart.

For the front-runners, the results of the second try at a start were very similar to the first. Sweeney took the lead from Harrell, Goode followed him through, then made a bid for the lead off the fourth corner. This time, though, Sweeney fought off the move, clearing Goode in Turns 1 and 2 on lap 2.

Sweeney’s stay at the front was short-lived. On lap 3, Goode drove underneath him in the first and second corners and nosed ahead as they returned to the start/finish line. Goode gained the clear-cut advantage on lap 4. Sweeney gave way to Harrell and Adkins, falling to fourth before he could find a place in the preferred groove. The shuffle allowed Goode to open a four-length margin.

The second yellow flag flew on lap 7. Setting the lineup, Goode was the leader, followed by Harrell, Adkins, Sweeney and Parker. Lubno, meanwhile, was mired in eighth.

Back under green, Hinson bypassed Parker to crack the top five. Jason Leftwich and Lubno took Hinson’s cue and kicked Parker back to eighth. Hinson gained another spot on lap 10 when he overtook Adkins for fourth.

On lap 12, Sweeney moved to the outer groove and swept by Harrell to regain second place. Hinson followed his lead and passed Harrell on lap 13, also on the high side, to take over third. Lubno scooted around Leftwich on lap 14 for fifth. With all the exchanges going on in his mirror, Goode widened his lead to better than half a straightaway.

Lubno grabbed fourth place from Harrell on the 17th circuit and quickly closed in on Hinson. On lap 25, Lubno won that battle and moved into third.

At the front, Goode had stretched his lead to almost a full straightaway over Sweeney. Nearing the halfway mark, though, he slowed to navigate past slower traffic and Sweeney narrowed the gap a bit.

The third caution flag waved on lap 45 when Brandon Carteret pounded the outside wall in Turn 1. Lining up for the restart, the front four — Goode, Sweeney, Lubno and Hinson — were separated from fifth-place Billy Fisher by three lapped machines.

Returning to green, the lead quartet took full advantage of the buffer, driving away from the pack. Sweeney stayed on Goode’s bumper for a lap, then fell back two lengths on the backstretch on lap 46 as Lubno closed in.

By lap 50, Goode’s margin had stabilized at about four car-lengths over Sweeney, who was easing away from Lubno.

The last of the race’s four caution flags appeared on lap 60 when Bobby Spivey slowed to a crawl in Turn 4.

On the final restart, Goode eked out a one-car-length edge, while Sweeney and Lubno renewed their battle for the runner-up spot. On lap 61, Sweeney and Lubno made contact in Turns 3 and 4, allowing Goode to slip away by four lengths.

At the finish, Goode was the winner, maintaining that four-length advantage to the checkers. The official winning margin was 0.939-second over Sweeney. Lubno was third, but fell off the pace a bit in the closing circuits, finishing two seconds behind Sweeney. Fisher was fourth, taking that spot from Hinson on lap 67. Hinson completed the top five.

Leftwich was sixth to the line, followed by Harrell, Parker and Kyle Waltz. The top nine drivers were all on the lead lap. Bobby Ferebee was 10th, a lap down to the leaders.

In Victory Lane after the race, Goode commented on having Sweeney and Lubno in his tire tracks for most of the event: “Paul, Tommy, all them guys can drive. They’re all great competitors and, when they’re back there, they’re always a threat. So, that’s always in the back of my mind. When they start racing with each other, it kinda gives me a little break.” In the evening’s other feature events:

Joe Scarbrough powered into the lead on the opening circuit and sped to his third victory of the year in a 50-lapper for the B&C Seafood Modifieds.

Points leader Shawn Balluzzo started on the pole and took the lead as the race got under way, beating Rusty Wood to Turn 1. Scarbrough, who started third, rushed to fill the opening to the inside of Wood and came away with second place.

Not satisfied with second, though, Scarbrough chased down Balluzzo in Turns 3 and 4 and motored out front as the field raced off the fourth corner for the first time. Balluzzo settled into second and, with Wood joining in, the top three began to rocket away from the pack. By lap 5, they were up by almost half a straightaway over fourth-place Buster Horne Jr.

After a caution flag on lap 6, Scarbrough managed to establish a slim margin over Balluzzo. As the laps clicked off, though, he began to inch away, while Wood closed in on Balluzzo, looking for second.
The second yellow flag appeared on lap 19 as Chris Johnson and Jimmy Kibler went around in Turn 3. Wood spun to avoid the incident and was allowed to return to the third spot as the field lined up for a restart.

Back under green, Scarbrough staged an encore of his earlier performance. He manufactured a slim edge, then began to ease away. After successfully navigating past some slower machines on lap 31, Scarbrough’s lead stood at about half a straightaway. And, that margin quickly doubled three laps later when Balluzzo and Wood got trapped behind those same lapped cars.

Scarbrough’s full-straightaway margin was wiped out on lap 40 when the third caution flag flew.

As the race resumed, Scarbrough bolted from the pack, while Balluzzo and Wood continued their private duel. After a protracted effort, Wood finally took second on lap 46. The moved was undone, however, as the third caution flag was displayed.

Scoring reverted to lap 45 and Balluzzo was placed back in second.
On the final restart, Scarbrough quickly opened a two-length advantage on Balluzzo, stretching it to three along the back straightaway. Meanwhile, Balluzzo was busy with a challenge from Wood.

At the checkers, Scarbrough was the winner by 0.545-second — about three lengths — over Balluzzo. Wood was third, 0.814-second behind the winner. Horne and Danny Baker completed the top five.

Jonathan Mullett scored his first victory of the season in a 50-lapper for the Bass Pro Shops Super Streets. He started 13th in the 20-car field and moved into the lead on lap 40.

Points leader Jessica Wood was the pole starter, but gave up the lead to Ryan Nester on the opening lap. Randy Akers emerged from the shuffle in second, while Randy Sample bypassed Wood for third on lap 4.

For the first 34 laps, Nester and Akers circled the track in tight formation with Akers sneaking occasional peeks to the leader’s inside. Sample, meanwhile, lurked just a couple car-lengths behind the top two.

As Nester and Akers battled at the front, Mullett was making steady progress toward the point. He moved from 13th to 10th on the opening lap, gained another spot on lap 2 and jumped to seventh on lap 3. By lap 13, he had made his way into the top five. He overtook Jeramie Wood for fourth on lap 17.

The complexion of the event took a dramatic swing on lap 35 as Nester and Akers tangled off Turn 4. Nester spun to the inside of the track, bringing out the first caution flag. He and Akers were both relegated to the back of the pack for the restart as Sample assumed command.

Back under green, Sample forged a two-length lead over Mullett. Within three laps, though, Mullett had made up that ground and was pressuring Sample for the top spot.

On lap 39, Sample and Mullett made contact in Turn 4 and Sample slipped up the track, opening the door. Mullett pulled alongside Sample in Turn 1 on lap 40 and grabbed the lead as they exited Turn 4.
The second, and final, caution flag appeared on lap 43 when Nester fell off the pace and ground to a halt in Turn 4.

As the race resumed, Mullett and Sample broke from the pack in nose-to-tail formation. Behind them, Jeramie Wood ducked under Larry Venable in a bid for fourth. Wood cleared Venable on lap 44 and left the door open for his sister, Jessica, who moved into fifth on lap 45.
Nearing the finish, Mullett began to distance himself from Sample. At the checkers, he was the winner by three car-lengths — 0.663-second, to be precise.

Sample was second to the stripe, followed by Dale Parro, Jeramie Wood and Jessica Wood.

Dusty Connor notched his second straight win in the 25-lap E-Z Auto of Newport News UCAR feature, taking the lead on lap 6.
Points leader Matt Hockaday started on the pole and led the first five circuits with Connor in tow. Renno Marchetti IV was third, followed by Allen Dail and Mike Joyner.

After the first caution flag, at lap 5, Connor went on the attack on the restart, working a bumper to the inside of Hockaday on the backstretch. On the following circuit, he changed lanes at the entrance to Turn 3 and swung around the outside of Hockaday, grabbing the lead off the fourth corner.

Robert Rusinyak worked past Marchetti for third on lap 7, then forced his way by Hockaday on lap 8, sending Hockaday on a wild excursion across the edge of the infield in Turns 3 and 4.

The second caution flag flew on lap 9 as Hockaday crawled through Turns 1 and 2, his night over prematurely. While Hockaday parked his car, retiring to a 25th-place finish, officials directed Rusinyak to the rear of the field.

Back under green, Connor opened a three-length lead over Marchetti. Within a couple circuits, however, Marchetti had gobbled up that ground and was hounding Connor for the lead.

The third caution flag flew on lap 14, followed by another on the ensuing restart.

At that point, officials began scoring the caution laps. Before another green-flag lap could be completed, the yellow flag appeared for the fifth time and officials halted the caution lap tally at lap 20.

As the race got back under way, Connor and Marchetti pulled away, bumper-to-bumper. Behind them, rookie Greg Pass on living up to his name. Pass cracked the top five on lap 21, then took fourth on lap 22.

The sixth yellow flag slowed the proceedings for a final time on lap 24, setting up a “green-white-checkered” finish.

On the last restart, Connor managed to maintain a slim edge over Marchetti, beating him to the stripe by just 0.264-second. Pass was third, muscling past Joyner on the restart to nab his first podium result. Randy Prillaman was fourth, while Chris Hildebrand completed the top five.

Jeff Sampson led all the way from the pole for his fifth victory of the year in the 25-lap Wolf Contractors Wolf Truck race.

Sampson jumped into the lead on the opening circuit. By lap 4, he was already up by almost half a straightaway over second-place Mark Claar. Continuing to build the margin, he was ahead by a full straightaway as the race neared the halfway mark.

The race’s only caution flag flew on lap 13, wiping out Sampson’s hefty advantage.

It made little difference to Sampson, though, as, back under green, he set sail again.

At the finish, Sampson was the winner by 2.679 seconds over Claar. Michael Farmer was third, followed by George VanGuilder and Troy Hutcheson. The top five finishers were all Pro Division entries.
Jill Brinson was sixth overall and picked up top honors in the Semi-Pro Division for the second time this season. Eric Schaffer tailed her to the line.

After three caution flags, including two lengthy red-flag delays in the first five laps, officials brought a halt to a scheduled 20-lapper for the Rhonnda Claiborne, Realtor HRKC Pro Winged Champ Karts. The race was called with only four laps on the board when Tommy Nixon slammed the frontstretch wall and overturned just short of the start/finish line, prompting a rush of rescue personnel to the scene.

Adam Chalkley was credited with the win, his first of the season. Chuck Weeks was the runner-up, while Dannie Wyatt, Casey Wyatt and Jeremy Grogg rounded out the top five.


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